(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a folded product container that is cut from a single sheet of material and is folded, without glue, into a tray configuration with four corner columns that reinforce the tray and enable stacking of several trays, and with an open top for the display of products contained in the tray.
(2) Description of the Related Art
There area many different types of folded containers that are constructed of cardboard or paperboard or other similar type of material that are primarily designed to contain products as the products are shipped and stored. There are also folded containers of this type that serve as a display for the products packaged in the container when the products are put out in a store for purchase by consumers. Typically, in these types of folded containers, a portion of the folded container is removed so that the container can function as a display for the sale of the products contained in the container.
When used as a display in a store, several of these types of folded containers are often stacked so that consumers can easily view several different types of the products contained in the stacked containers. Because folding cartons of this type are often stacked when storing products, transporting products, and displaying products, the folding container must have a sufficiently rigid construction so that the container will not be crushed or deformed when positioned at the bottom of a stack of containers.
Folding containers that have removable portions that create a display from the containers often have reduced structural rigidity due to the removed portions. This presents the problem of the folding containers with the removed portions potentially being crushed or deformed when positioned at the bottom of a stack of such containers.
To reduce the potential for folding display containers being crushed or deformed by other containers stacked on the display container, the containers often have portions that are glued together. The gluing together of the container portions increases of the structural rigidity of the container. However, the gluing requires an additional manufacturing step in producing the containers, which adds to the manufacturing cost of the containers. Still further, even folded containers with glued portions may not have sufficient structural rigidity to prevent the container from being crushed or deformed when used to display products in a stack of containers.